Shannon Elizabeth

"The whole package is what attracted me, it wasn't any one thing. But if he had a wimpy handshake, I don't think it would have given me chills." - Shannon Elizabeth, on her former husband, Joseph D. Reitman.

After showing the world her assets in American Pie, Shannon Elizabeth decided to take the comedy route once more and starred in The Grand and Deal. She also appeared in a star-studded season of Dancing With The Stars.

SEX APPEAL

She's right up there with Denise Richards on the sexiness scale. She looks attractive even if she's wearing a parka, jogging pants and construction boots.

SUCCESS

Her bit roles in movies have made her a favorite among the pimple-faced portion of the population, but they also helped catch the eye of some of Hollywood's head honchos. Watch for her in a blockbuster action movie in the near future.

In the meantime, we're satisfied with her sexy performances in American Pie (1999), Scary Movie (2000), Thir13en Ghosts (2001), and Cursed (2004) -- even if she wasn't necessarily trying to be sexy. She also had roles on nine episodes of That 70s Show and the flicks The Kid & I (2005), The Grand (2007), Deal (2008), You Belong to Me (2008), and Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust (2008).

In 2005, it was announced that she is separating from her actor husband Joseph D. Reitman (they were married in June 2002). But Shannon is keeping busy with more movie roles, such as the 2005 made-for-TV movie Confessions of an American Bride and 2005's The Kid & I.

Shannon Elizabeth Biography

Shannon Elizabeth Fadal was born on September 7, 1973, in Houston, Texas. Her exotic look can be attributed to the fact that her father is part Syrian and Lebanese, while her mother is of English, French and Cherokee Indian descent. Shannon's parents decided to move to Waco, Texas when Shannon was a young child.

Claiming to not be part of the popular group in what she described as a cliquey high school, Shannon Elizabeth was involved in many after-school activities. Part of the student council executive, Shannon was active in volleyball and cheerleading (which probably came easy to her thanks to her tap and ballet lessons as a child). Her biggest interest during high school, however, was tennis, which she considered doing professionally.

shannon elizabeth becomes a model

Shannon Elizabeth's life took an unexpected twist in her senior year when she starred in a video that a local band was shooting. The producer thought that Shannon Elizabeth had what it takes to become a model, and convinced her and her parents to go to New York to get some photos done.

Once Shannon Elizabeth graduated from high school in 1991, she moved to New York, where a modeling agency was waiting for her to graduate and begin her modeling career. While doing some modeling work in New York (where she lived in the NYU dorms), Shannon Elizabeth also worked in countries such as France, Japan, Hong Kong, and Italy.

Although working abroad was an excellent experience, Shannon Elizabeth admits to having been homesick. When she returned to the U.S., she spent a few months in South Beach, Miami before moving to Los Angeles. Ready to pursue an acting career, she hesitated about going to L.A. immediately, recognizing the amount of competition among young budding actresses. When she finally did go to L.A., Shannon Elizabeth signed with the Ford Modeling Agency, figuring that getting some of her pictures done would help her get into acting. She later signed with Elite Model Management.

It didn't take long for Shannon Elizabeth to get her first commercial -- for Taco Bell -- and she decided to stay in L.A. and join an acting class. Soon after, the roles came in: she appeared in the television series Pacific Blue, Step by Step and USA High.

shannon elizabeth in american pie

In 1997, Shannon Elizabeth had a role in the film Jack Frost (where she appeared nude), and two made-for-TV movies, Blade Squad (1998) and Dying to Live (1999), soon followed. But it was her role in 1999's summer hit American Pie, as Nadia, a Czech foreign exchange student who bares it all, that launched Shannon's fame and career.

shannon elizabeth in scary movie

In 2000, Shannon Elizabeth appeared in the teen horror spoof Scary Movie, as well as in Evicted and Dish Dogs. The following year, she reprised her role as sexy Nadia in American Pie 2 and also appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Tomcats and Thir13en Ghosts. After that, she had a slew of smaller roles, like in Love Actually (2003) and Cursed (2004). In 2005, she appeared in The Kid & I and starred in the made-for-TV movie Confessions of an American Bride. She also worked on 13 episodes of the comedy TV show Cuts.

Shannon Elizabeth separated from her husband, Joseph D. Reitman, to whom she had been married since June 2002, as well.

shannon elizabeth on dancing with the stars and in maxim

Shannon Elizabeth was also a cover girl for Maxim, Playboy and Details, and she was Enrique Iglesias' love interest in the video for his song "Be With You."

In 2008, Shannon Elizabeth appeared on the star-studded cast of Dancing With The Stars. She worked on the comedy Deal and the crime thriller You Belong to Me. She was also the June cover girl for Maxim magazine.